Wolfstripes and Fly
Wolfstripes and Fly is the first book in the Long Lost series. Prolouge Spotty and Blackpelt were meeting by the river again. "How you get through LionClan and LeopardClan territory I'll never understand." Blackpelt purred to her mate. Blackpelt was completly black with a tiny spot of white on her belly. Spotty was a black tom with small white spots on his back. The moon hung low in the sky and the stars sparkled brightly. Blackpelt had a bad feeling that StarClan was watching over her and disapproved of her mate. "It isn't that hard, honestly." Spotty replied, rubbing his pelt to her's. "Brightstar would be so angry if she found out I was meeting you again. Spottedtail, the deputy, almost caught me on the way here. This isn't safe." Blackpelt fretted. "It's okay love." Spotty reasured her. "After all, our kits are nearly born." "But that will just raise further suspision. I think, when I have the kits, you should take them to your Twolegs to be taken care of." "NO!" Spotty yowled in alarm, them calmed down a bit. "The Twolegs took Fern and Grove's kits away. I can't let that happen. After they are born, I will take them to Fern. She left her twolegs and just had some more kits. She will take good care of our kits." "I will." Black pelt agreed. "Go now! I think I hear a midnight patrol coming!" Spotty leaped into the river and swam like a fish to the other side. Blackpelt watched him diassaper into the undergrowth on the other side before she turned and ran bak into PantherClan territory, happy to run on the moors. "Such cute kits!" Brightstar purred to Blackpelt. "StarClan knows Pantherclan always needs healty kits." "Yes, they're beautiful, aren't they?" Blackpelt licked the smaller, she-cat kit with white spots on her sides's tiny shoulder. The kit gave a weak squek of annoyance and scooted closer to her brother. Brightstar and Blackpelt talked for a bit longer then Brightstar left, calling to Spottedtail. Once the moon had risen and the camp was quiet, Blackpelt took her two kits outside. She ripped a hole in the nursery's celing by jumping on her hind legs with a branch in her mouth. Then she guided the tiny kits outside the camp. Blackpelt carefully walked her kits to the shoreline, on the way having trouble getting the gray tom with black stripes to sit still. He attempted to take a beetle as fresh-kill, jumped at a butterfly and almost knocked it out of the air, and did some surprisingly good fighting moves on his sister. Blackpelt felt uneasy about giving her kits away to Fern and Grove, but she had to do it. "Are these the kits?" Spotty dragged himself out of the river and onto shore. "Yes." Blackpelt told him. "Well, give them to me. I was being followed by a LeopardClan apprentice and I need to get back home quickly!" Spotty told her. "One thing, though." Blackpelt said. "You will take this one, her name is Fly because of the spots on her sides look like wings. However, this one has the heart of a warrior. I will keep him." Spotty looked sad for a moment, then took Fly and swam with her across the river. Blackpelt walked back to camp. Her cover story would be that a hawk had torn a hole in the nursery roof and took her kits, but as she was chasing them the hawk dropped the tom.'' Good-bye, Fly. Your memory lives on through your brother. she thought. Chapter 1: A Prophecy Wolfpaw was stalking a mouse. It was plump and could feed all the apprentices an kits if he could catch it. It was dawn and a thin mist covered the ground. his black and silver pelt was very well disguised. W''ait a moment! ''He thought. ''Pantherclan cats don't eat mice, they eat rabbits! "Hello there, little one." a soft voice whispered in his ear. He turned slowly to see who it was. It was a golden she-cat with ginger patches that looked like flowers. The she-cat leaped ove Wolfpaw's head and caught the plump mouse with a swift bite to the neck. "Eat up." He ducked his head in thanks, feeling he could have caught it himself but was still grateful. "Who are you?" he asked after he was done eating. He licked the last bits of juice from his whiskers while he waited for an answer. "I am Brightstar's sister, Lilypetal." the cat told him. "I am with starCaln now, and I have a message for you." "What is it?" Wolfpaw asked eargerly. Lilypetal swiped at him with her tail playfully. "The message is, The Wolf will find what he lost long ago, but will put his Clan before it." Lilypetal faded and Wolfpaw woke up the apprentice's den. " Wolfpaw, you furball! Get off me!" Frondspaw yowled. He had rolloed onto her while he was sleeping. "Sorry, Frondspaw." he yawned, rolling out of her nest. His nest was scattered everywhere, little bits of moss clinging to his pelt. "I think you broke my back!" Frondspaw complained, streching with her tail curled in the air. Wolfpaw swiped Frondspaw affectionatly and she swiped back. He slapped her with his paw, claws shealthed. They started a play-fight, scattering the moss from the nests. "Do you mind?" Beepaw, Frondspaw's brother asked angrily. He had been woken up bu Frondspaw stepping in his ear. "Sorry, Beepaw." Frondspaw meowed to him. Wolfpaw thought Frondspaw's ice blue eyes were beautiful with her white and blue-gray pelt. "I'm going to see if Blossomflower has any plans for my training today. If not, I'm going to see if I can go hunting with you." he brushed Frondspaw's muzzle. He trotted out of the den and over to the middle of the clearing where Blossomflower was sharing tounges with Spottedstar. "Hello, Wolfpaw. I was just talking to Spottedstar, and I think it's time for your's, Beepaw's, and Frondspaw's assment." Blossomflower told him as he padded over. "That's great!" Wolfpaw meowed happily. He hurried back to the apprentice den to tell Frondspaw and Beepaw. "Just remeber we'll be watching you, even if you can't see us." Goldenfoot told them. Frondspaw, Wolfpaw, and Beepaw split up, Wolfpaw watching Beepaw's golden fur disappear in the undergrowth and Frondspaw's white and blue-gray behind a rock. Wolfpaw smelled vole. He snuck up through the ferns with his tail hanging stiff so it didn't shake the leaves. He waited, then pounced. Nothing that exciting happened for awhile, and he caught two more voles, a mouse, two rabbits, and a thrush. "Very good, Wolfpaw!" Blossomflower exclaimed when he dropped all his kills at her feet. "Let's get this all back to camp, then we can head right back out after you've eaten, for battle training." Chapter 2: A Stray "It's a the good stray, Harries" Goldman called to his brother. "Shut your filthy muzzle, kittypet!" Fly threatened, showing her long front claws. It was a good thin goldman did 'shut his filthy muzzle,' because Fly was tired and in no condition to fight. She knew Goldman and Harries because they lived in the Twoleg nest next to her den. They say she is no good and that she is evil because she doesn't live with twolegs, but one day she'd show em'. "Are you back yet, Fly?" Came a call from in her den. Her father, Spotty, had fallen ill. He was old and very vunlrable to illness. She padded into her den, which was a burrow underground. The entrance was under athronbush, so it was safe from predators. "I'm here father." Fly called to Spotty. "I brought a mouse I caught in the forest, but I got chased by the savages again." "Fly, there's one thing I want to tell you, in case I die." Spotty rolled over to look her in the bright emerald eyes. "You have a brother." "What?" Fly said it calmly, sure she had misunderstood. "You have a brother. you mother never told me his name. He lives with the savages." Spotty confessed. "I have a brother! Was he kidnapped by the savages?" "No, he lives with them. They aren't savages. They are called Clan cats. Your mother was a Clan cat. I loved her so, but our love was forbidden. She couldn't let the rest of the Clan cats know I was your father, so she was going to give you and your brother to me. However, she knew your brother could never be happy leaving her Clan, so she only gave you to me." "So my real mother was a savage!" She yowled. "She was not a savage!" Her father jumped to his paws, wincing, in anger. "She was a Clan cat! Clan cats are noble, loyal, and brave! Don't you dare call your mother a savage!" Fly, surprisd at her father's hostility, jumped backwards, tripping over a twig. "If the Clan cats aren't savage, then explain why they keep trying to kill me when I'm out in the forest!" she hissed. "It's their territory, and there are a lot of mouths to feed!" "What kind of mouths? Ones with huge fangs for ripping cats apart?" "They have to feed the leader, deputy, warriors, appretices, elders, Queens, kits, and the medicine cat!" "Medicine cat?" Fly suddenly calmed down. "They have a medicine cat?" "Yes." Spotty had calmed down now too. "They take care of inguried and sick cats." "That's it!" Fly jumped up excitedly. "That's how I'll heal you! I need a medicine cat." Chapter 3: Three New Warriors Wolfpaw, Frondspaw, and Beepaw were all sharing a plump rabbit outside the apprentice den. Goldenfoot walked by on the way to the leader's den. Wolfpaw wondered what Beepaw's mentor was doing, talking to the leader. Wolfpaw scanned camp. Beepaw was a golden cat with black tabby stripes, Frondspaw white with blue-gray spots that looked like leaves, Goldenfoot was gray except for one golden foot, Softpelt was a fluffy tortiseshell queen with her two kits playing outside the nursery. "Come on, Frondspaw. Let's go say hi to the kits. They still have their fluffy fur." Wolfpaw and Frondspaw padded over to Softpelt and her two kits. "TigerClan warriors!" Barkkit whispered in his brother's ear. Spotkit and Barkkit leaped onto Wolfpaw and dug into his back with their tiny paws, claws shealthed. "Oh, no! they've killed me!" Wolfpaw meowed, then pretened to be dead until the brothers climbed off him. Frondspaw let out a faint mrrrrow of laughter then jumped into the play-fight. "Frondspaw! Wolfpaw!" Goldenfoot emerged from Spottedstar's den and padded over. "Oh, no1" Spotkit yowled playfully. "We're outnumbered!" Barkkit stalked up behind Goldenfoot, Goldenfoot didn't seem to notice. just as Barkkit was about to pounce for his tail, Goldenfoot turned and swiped him away, claws shealthed. "They're to good for us!" Barkkit yowled. "We are your servents, TigerClan warriors!" "Enough of that!" Softpelt swiped her tail along their muzzles. "So, what did you want to tell us, Goldenfoot?" Frondspaw asked as Barkkit and Spotkit started pouncing on their mother's tail. "spottedstar thinks it's about time you three get your warrior names." Goldenfoot told them. Frondspaw jumped in excitment, but Wolfpaw sensed a problem. "That will leave no apprentices to fetch moss for Lost-foot." he meowed. "Spottedstar also says Windkit, Riverkit, Shadowkit, and Thunderkit are old enough to become apprentices." Goldenfoot. "One good way to convince me you are ready to be warriors is go out hunting, and bring back five mice between you!" Wolfpaw and Frondspaw dropped their catch on the fresh-kill pile. It was twilight, the moon was just starting to peek it's way over the horizon. Wolfpaw was proud of their catch. They had brought back, not five mice, but eight. Five caught by Wolfpaw, three caught by Frondspaw. "Losteyes! Blossomflower! we caught eight mice, not five!" Frondspaw caled to their mentors. "Eat up." Blossomflower told them. "you might be a little hungry if you don't eat until after your vigil." "Thank you." Wolfpaw dug in to a thrush from the bottom of the pile, while Frondspaw ate one of the mice she had caught. "Did you hear, Frondspaw, Wolfpaw?" Beepaw dashed throught the camp entrance, his mentor, Goldenfoot, trailing behind him. "We're going to be warriors!" "I hope my name is Wolfclaw!" Wolfpaw meowed excitedly. "My name will be Beestripes!" Beepaw said, proudly fluffing up his chest then licking it down. " Oh, your going to look so nice as final warriors of PantherClan!" Frondspaw and Beepaw's mother, Blossomflower, came padded over and started licking behind their ears. Wolfpaw felt a pang of lonleyness, his mother had died a moon after he had been made an apprentice. He still had his father, Strongheart, who was deputy. "Will all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather here below Tallrock!" Spottedstar called to the camp. Wolfpaw, Frondspaw, and Beepaw stood underneath the Tallrock, Blossomflower, Goldenfoot, and Losteyes standing next to them. Strongheart licked Wolfpaw across the ears once, then said, "Good luck, son." Wolfpaw thought he could see guilt flicker on his father's face for a moment, but he must have imagined it, because it was gone a second later. "StarClan, look down upon these young apprentices. They have trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." Spottedstar called when the Clan had assembled. She jumped down to stand next to the apprentices. "Do you swear to uphold the warrior code, even with your life?" "I do." Frondspaw meowed excitedly. "I do." Wolfpaw said confidently. "I do!" Beepaw almost yowled. "Then from this moment on, Frondspaw, you will be known as Frondsleaf. StarClan honors your loyalty and compassion. Wolfpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Wolfstripes. StarClan honors your strength and heart. Beepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Beesting. StarClan honors your skill and courage." "Frondsleaf, Wolfstripes, Beesting!" echoed around the moors outside the camp as the trio padded to the center of camp for vigil. Chapter 4: Badly Injuried Fly set off into the forest. She had left her father in the care of Fern and Grove, but before she had left, her father told her her mother's real name was 'Blackpelt.' T''errible name, ''she thought. ''What were my grandparents thinking when they named her? '' '' ''Fly pricked her ears. A mouse and a vole were hiding in the same patch of ferns. She pounced, and killed both of them in one swipe. "It's a rouge, Whitetail. what do we do?" she looked up. " Mouse-brain, she heard you!" a cat hidden in the shadows meowed angrily. "Oh, well. She's stealing prey. We have to chase her out." A black cat with a white tail emerged from the shadows. After that a smaller gray cat emerged. "You're stealing Tigerclan prey." the smaller one meowed. "Are you the Clan cats?" fly asked eargerly. "Do you have amedicine cat?" "We are, and we do, but why does a kittypet want to know?" the cat with the white tail asked. "My father's sick, an I need a medicine cat to-" Fly started. "Why should we give up our medicine cat to a filthy rouge?" the smaller cat asked. "I have Clan blood!" Fly proclaimed proudly. "My mother fell in love with a rouge." "It doesn't matter that you might have Clan blood, you're still on our territory. GET OUT!" Fly dropped the kill and ran as the white-tailed cat streaked after her. She scraped her pelt on the trees as she dashed past, leaving little clumps of black fur on the bark. She ran for what seemed like forever, ducking in between trees and splashin through puddles, but the white-tailed cat never seemed to get tired. At last she could smell fresh air. she saw open moorland through the trees, clumps of heather dotting the hills. it would be easier to run there. However, as soon as they left the forest, the white-tailed cat pounced and bowled her over. "If any cat in the afterlife asks who killed you, tell them his name was Whitetail." the cat unshealthed his claws and raked them down her belly, cutting it open. hHe kept slicing her with his claws, although she had already gone limp and given up. "Fox dung!" Whitetail jumped off Fly at the sound of pounding pawsteps. "I'm on Pantherclan territory!" Fly had no energy to move. She stayed still until she heard another band of cats. She rolled over and saw a silver cat with black stripes down his back. she seemed to remeber him, like he had been an old friend. She had an instant flashback. Being carried through the forest by the scruff, watching this cat jump up into the air after a butterfly, attcking a bug, pummling her with his paws, disappearing as she swam after her father through a river... Could he be her brother? Chapter 5: The Missing Cat Wolfstripes winced under the weight of the rouge. He was carring her on his back while Shadowpaw held up her head. He was nearing camp now. The rouge was muttering feebly, " My father... medicine cat... ill... I need.. medicine cat.. father ill.." "Wolfstripes, hurry up." Strongheart told his son. " I'll go ahead and warn Fastbeat and Whitedust." The PantherClan deputy dashed throw the opening to the camp. As Wolfstripes, Shadowpaw, and the rouge emerged into the camp, there was gasps from all the cats who were awake. "Is she dead?" Lost-foot called worridly from the elder's den. "There is no scent of death in the air." Lionclaw, who was blind, meowed. "But there is scent of rouge." "Medcine cat!" the rouge suddenly screeched, making evey cat in the camp jump in surprise. "My father needs a medicine cat! He's ill!" "You need a medicine cat!" Wolfstripes told the rouge, setting her down as Whitedust and Fastbeat came running out of the medicine cat den, each with a mouthful of herbs. "No, you don't understand!" the rouge yowled. "My father is old! He is sick! He told me of Clan cats who have medicine cats! I need a medicine cat to save him!" "Quiet and sit still!" Fastbeat snapped. Wolfstripes knew he had never been to kind to his paitnets. "Wolfstripes! Please leave us with our patient!" Wolfstripes hurridly scrambled out of the den. "Where's Frondsleaf?" he asked Dovefoot. "I haven't seen here since this morning." Dovefoot answered. She picked up a rabbit from the fresh-kill pile and padded away. Come to think of it, Wolfsripes hadn't seen Frondsleaf since he had left on his patrol. The next morning Wolfsritpes noticed Frondsleaf wasn't in her nest again. He visited Fly quickly in the medicine den, and then he hurried to Spottedstar. "Frondsleaf still isn't here." he meowed after Spottedstar let him in. "I think it is time to send a patrol." "Of course." Spottedstar flicked her spotted tail and followed Wolfstripes out of the den. She summond Strongheart and meowed, "Send a patrol to find Frondsleaf. I want Wolfstripes to lead it, he is the Clan's best tracker and he knows Frondsleaf's scent well." If Wolfstripes didn't have fur, he would have blushed. Strongheart quickly assembled a patrol of Riverpaw, Windpaw, Losteyes, and Brightpatch.